A Day Like No Other
by OncerForLife'IG
Summary: It was something I had been thinking about for awhile and it's basically what would happen if there was a way for Emma to grow up again, aging up a year every hour, but this time with her parents, and she was able to remember everything when she reached 28 again.
1. Chapter 1

The sun was shining particularly bright today as it shined upon Storybrooke. The Charming family were just sitting down to breakfast when the curious Henry asked, "Hey grandma, if there was a spell to make my mom young again and age up a year every hour, would you use it?" Snow looked at Henry and smiled, "Well I would've loved to see my daughter grow up but I don't think your mom would want to relive her childhood again, although that might actually be fun. What do you think David?" David walked over to his lovely wife and kissed her good morning. "Well, I think if we were to ever come across magic like that, the decision would be up to Emma."

"Mom?", Henry asked as he stared at his mother, waiting for a reply. "Well guys, uhm, it would be wonderful to grow up with my parents and have wonderful memories. But I'll settle for day dreaming and making memories with you guys now." Emma said, pondering about what it would be like to grow up again.

She softly smiled at the thought of replacing her bad memories with new ones. "C'mon kid, we have to get you to school." Emma said finishing her breakfast. "Oh Emma, on your way back can you stop and pick up some cinnamon? We ran out." Snow asked as she was washing dishes. "Sure mom, no problem. Ready Henry?" Emma said as she put on her jacket. Henry smiled as he grabbed his backpack, "Ready as I'll ever be." As soon as they left David looked up at Snow, "What if there was a way to relive her childhood Snow? Wouldn't you want to give it a try?"

Snow stopped what she was doing and looked into David's eyes and let a tear fall, "Of course I would. I would love to give anything to watch our daughter grow up and be there for her but we both know that isn't going to happen so let's just stop dreaming and come back to reality." "But Snow, maybe there is a way. I think I remember someone talking about Gold being able to turn back time." David said eagerly. "David!" Snow said, now becoming agitated. "All magic comes with a price David, and I won't lose anything else to magic. It just isn't worth it anymore. I just want to be there for our daughter now, she needs us now." Snow walked over to the window and stared out at the sky. David walked up behind her, wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck.

"I'm sorry if I upset you, I just thought..." "It's okay honey. I'm sorry if I snapped at you." Snow turned around and looked at David smiling. "Hey, guess what." David said. "What?" Snow asked smiling. "I love you more than all the words in all the books." "Oh really?" She said with a chuckle. "Mhm." David answered before kissing Snow. Emma walked in, "Oh gosh, again guys? Second time I go to the store and I come back to see my parents making out. When will the torture end?!" Her parents looked at her, then at each other and just laughed.

"Yeah yeah, laugh it up guys. Emotionally scarring your only child is really funny." Emma said as she sat down at the table. Snow walked up behind her and gave her a hug. "Aww Emma, that's just a part of having parents. That's our job." She said as she kissed her daughter on the head. David laughed as he got ready for work. "So you guys, I was thinking about what Henry said and honestly I would love to go back, as long as I didn't lose memory of what I know now." Emma said. Snow just looked with this shocked look on her face and then looked at David.

"See Snow, I told you." David said. "Honey are you sure? All magic comes with a price and I'm not sure if we can pay that price anymore." Snow asked. "I mean, it couldn't hurt to ask Gold if he had a spell and what the side effects were. I didn't want to say anything in front of Henry because I didn't want to get his hopes up." Emma said as she looked into her mother's eyes. Snow could see that her daughter was serious and deep down, she wanted the spell to be real, she wanted it to happen so she could see her daughter's first steps, hear her first words, bandage her first cut and all the other things mothers get to do with their children.

"Okay, well I guess we can go ask Gold and see." Snow hesitated. Emma smiled, "Thanks you guys." David hugged the two women in his life. "Well I'm off to work, we'll head to Gold's together later on this afternoon. Okay?" "That's fine." they both answered. But what they didn't know was that Regina was spying on them and had heard their conversation. This was her chance, she began plotting a way to strike her revenge.

After Emma walked Henry to school, he waited for his mom to leave then he decided to make his way to Mr. Gold's shop. On the way he bumped into Regina. "Henry, shouldn't you be in school? Is Ms. Swan allowing you to miss school?" Regina asked in her stern tone. "Mom? Uh, no. I kinda snuck away." He said as he looked down. "Where are you going that it's so important that you skip school?" she said, picking up Henry's head so their eyes would meet. "Nowhere. Just trying to get some fresh air." Regina looked at Henry and raised her eyebrow, "Don't lie to me Henry. Where are you going? Why aren't you at school?"

"Well I was going to talk to Mr. Gold about something." She stood straight up, "Well you can do that after school. Come on, I'll walk you back and make sure you go to class." He grabbed her hand, "Fine" he said as they walked back to his school. When they got to his class Regina called Snow out of the room. "Henry! Where were you? Your mom dropped you off before I left this morning." Snow asked. "Well it seems Ms. Swan needs to make sure he actually goes to class next time. I caught him heading to Gold's shop." Regina said. "You wouldn't now anything about this now would you Ms. Blanchard?" Snow looked at Henry and then turned to Regina, "Yes I know exactly why he went. Even though we told him not to worry about it." She cut her eyes at Henry.

Regina hugged Henry, "Well please keep a closer eye on my son, he's all I have." "Don't worry Regina, we love Henry just as much as you do." Snow said as she grabbed Henry's hand. "Yeah." Regina said as she tucked her hands in her pocket and walked away. Snow kneeled down so she would be eye level with Henry, "Why did you skip school?" "I wanted to see if Mr. Gold had a spell for my mom." Snow hugged Henry, "Oh Henry, I know you thought that was a good idea but you could've gotten yourself into a lot of trouble. Don't go off by yourself again, understand?" Henry smiled, "I understand. Sorry for scaring you grandma." Snow laughed, "I wonder if I'll ever get used to being called grandma. And it's okay, come on, you have classwork to do."

Once everyone got home, David called a family meeting. "What's going on dad?" Emma asked as everyone came and sat at the table. "Well I wanted everyone's opinion one more time before we go see Gold. Snow, you first." Snow covered her mouth with one hand, looked at Emma and grabbed her hands, "Well sweetie, if this is something you really want to do, I'm all for it." Emma smiled, "It is, I think it'll be good for us." David looked at Henry, "Well Champ, seems like we have a vote."

Henry was so excited, "This is going to be amazing! Can we go now?" he asked as he ran to the door. "Whoa kid, let us grab our jackets first." They all made their way to Gold's shop. Emma walked in first to see Gold behind the counter reading the paper. "Ah Ms. Swan, how may I help you and your lovely family today?" "We were wondering if you had a spell that would make me young again and age every hour til I was 28 again?" Gold looked at the family inquisitively, "I think I may be able to help you but what's in it for me?" "What do you want?" David asked. "Hmm. What I want is for the Savior to go on one more quest for me."

"Absolutely not!" Snow demanded. "What kind of quest Gold?" Emma asked. "Emma!" Snow called. Emma looked back at her mom, "Don't worry." Gold smirked, "Well I need someone to hide my dagger in a new spot I've marked on this map." "And that's all I have to do?" Emma asked with her eyebrow raised. "That is all. I would do it but I'm afraid to leave Belle here alone and I don't want to drag her with me." Gold assured her. "Are there any side effects to the spell? Like will she lose her memory? Will it affect her in a negative way?" Snow asked. "I assure you if you use the spell, once your daughter is back to her correct age, she will know everything she knows now. She won't forget anything but she will have new memories along with the old ones."

"Okay, I'll go on your quest. Give me the map and dagger." Gold went in the back and came back with the map and dagger. "Now be very careful and place the dagger in this very spot. Also be careful in this part of the woods, there's something lurking out there." David got angry, "What do you mean there's something lurking out there?! You're sending our daughter into a potentially dangerous area?" "It's okay, I've survived this much, what else could possibly happen?" Emma said as she grabbed the dagger and map.


	2. Chapter 2

Once they got outside the shop Emma looked at her parents, "I want you guys to take Henry home and wait for me to get back, this shouldn't take long." "I'm coming with you!" David insisted. "So am I." Henry chimed in. "Guys look..." Emma said. "I guess we're all coming with you because I wouldn't dare send you out there alone." Snow said as she took her daughter's hand. "Okay fine, you guys can come along, but if something gets serious I want you to take Henry and run. Now let's get this done, the sooner the better." They all made their way into the woods, crossed the toll bridge and finally made it to the spot Gold had designated for the burial of his dagger.

"Okay, here's the spot." Emma said. David started digging and then there was a big clank noise. "I think I hit metal." He said. Emma bent down to find that Gold had a metal box with a lock attached. "This must be what he wants us to put it in." She put the dagger in the box, locked it and put it back in the hole. David covered it with dirt while Emma burned the map. Just then they all heard a twig crack. Emma grabbed Henry as they all looked around trying to figure out what that was. Emma drew her gun, "Who's out here?" She slowly turned trying to figure out where the sound came from.

"I'm giving you the chance to show yourself, or else!" Emma yelled. There was this loud laugh and it sounded like a woman, then this cloud of pink smoke appeared and out came this lady. "Here I am Sheriff. What are you going to do?" The lady asked. Emma pointed her gun at the woman, "Who are you?" "Why, your worst nightmare of course." she laughed. Snow grabbed Henry and ran to David, "Have you ever seen her before?" "Yes! She's a witch!" David yelled to Emma. "Well witch or not, she doesn't scare me." "Oh but in due time my dear, in due time."

The woman said right before she disappeared into a cloud of pink smoke again. "Okay, so does anyone have an idea about what she meant?" Emma asked as she put away her gun. "Well, she's the witch that takes form of the thing you're most afraid of." David said. "We need to get out of here, now!" Snow demanded. They all made their way back to Gold's shop but David went in first, furious. "Why didn't you tell us Serena the Witch was here?!" Gold smirked, "Well if I would've told you, you wouldn't have went. Lucky for us, she can't leave the woods so as long as you don't go out there you'll be fine." "That isn't the point! She could've hurt us out there!" Snow was getting more and more pissed off. "Look! Point is, my dagger is safely in a box, locked and protected by magic, only I can open it. And now you have the spell you wanted, so I suggest you take it and go enjoy your family before I lose my temper." Gold said as he sat the potion on the counter.

"Drink this and you'll immediately become your 1 year old self, and at the start of every hour you will age a year until you are this age again. Like I said before nothing bad will happen, everything will be back to normal, you will just have new memories to enjoy. Good day Charming Family." Gold disappeared to the back. Emma grabbed the potion, put it in her pocket and leaded her family out the door. "This is going to be the best day ever!" Henry jumped for joy. On their way home Regina was behind them, following them. "Oh Sheriff Swan!" Emma turned around to see Regina. "Yes?" she asked. "I was wondering if I could spend some time with Henry today?" Regina smiled. Emma looked at Henry, "Well it's up to him, really. Do you want to go with your mom today, kid?"

Henry looked up at Regina, "Uh, sure. Just let me go and grab my backpack and I'll meet you at home." He smiled and Regina smiled back. "Okay sweetie, see you then." She turned around and walked the other way. "Henry, why do you need your backpack to go with Regina?" Snow asked. "I don't, this is a part of the plan." "What plan, Henry?" Emma said, stopping in her tracks.


	3. Chapter 3

"The plan to keep my mom away from you guys while you enjoy my mom being you again. I told her that so I could let you know I would keep her busy til you were all grown up again." "Oh kid, I seriously doubt she knows anything." Emma reassured him. "She may not know every detail, but she knows something, I heard her talking to herself. She was saying that if you didn't let me go with her today, something bad would happen. So you guys can go home, I'll go keep my mom distracted." "You sure?" David asked.

He hugged them all goodbye, "Yeah I'm sure." He ran off to his mother's house. "That kid is something else." Emma said smiling. Snow hugged her daughter as they were walking, "Well, it runs in the family. Now, let's go see how well this spell will work." When they got home, Emma sat on the bed and fiddled with the potion in her pocket.

Snow looked at Emma, "What's wrong honey?" Emma was in a trance, she pulled her hand out of her pocket. "Huh? Oh nothing, I was just thinking." Snow sat down next to her as David walked over. "Are you having second thoughts about this?" David asked. "No, not at all." Tears formed in her eyes, causing Snow to grow concerned. "I was just thinking about how great it would be to finally get the chance to grow up with my parents."

She smiled as the tears rolled down her cheek. David smiled, Snow wiped Emma's tears, trying not to cry herself. Snow smiled softly, "Well whenever you're ready, we're ready." Emma took the potion out of her pocket and looked at her parents who were smiling at her. She laid down in the bed and drank the potion. Meanwhile, at Regina's house, Henry rang the doorbell. Regina answered the door, "Henry, you didn't have to ring the doorbell. You still live here." She greeted him with a warm hug. "Oh yeah." He laughed. "I forgot."

"So what would you like to do? We can go out to eat, the arcade, movies, the day is yours." Regina said, grabbing her keys. "Actually mom, can we stay in and watch movies on tv? Maybe make a pizza and bake some cookies?" Henry asked. "Um, sure! If that's what you really want? I'll go in the kitchen and get started." Henry smiled at his mom, "I'm sure. I want to spend quality time with you. I'll come help." Regina felt a weird loving sensation, for once she could be happy. They went in the kitchen and started cooking.

Back at the Charming's place, Emma had drank the potion and started to change. "David! Look!" Snow called. Emma was 1 again. Snow began crying tears of joy as she picked her daughter up and held her again. David sat down next to her and held Emma's hand. "Oh my baby girl! Hi Emma, I'm your mommy." "And I'm your daddy." David smiled and kissed his wife on the forehead. Emma looked at her parents and smiled. "This is just, this is amazing! We have the chance to raise her." David said.

"But most of all, we can spend time with her." Snow said, she just looked at Emma, stunned and so happy. She tickled Emma, "We better make the best of it, she turns two in an hour. Let's teach her to walk." Snow said as she got down on the floor with Emma. She stood Emma up, Emma just smiled like any normal happy baby. She wobbled a little but then was able to get the hang of standing. David sat down in front of Snow, "Come on Emma, walk to Da Da." he said.

She turned around and started walking but fell. "Oh sweetie..." Snow said but Emma got back up and tried again, this time she was able to make it all the way to David. "That's my girl!" He kissed her as he picked her up. "Well look at the proud father." Snow said with a chuckle. "Hey, she gets that determination from me." He said, standing her back up. Snow cut her eyes at David, "Oh really? Anyways, come to Mama, Emma." Snow reached out for Emma to walk toward her. She got a huge smile and ran to her mother. "My big girl, oh I love you so much." She smothered Emma with kisses and Emma just laughed.


	4. Chapter 4

Time passed and Emma grew older, each hour Snow and David made wonderful memories. She was four now and she ran up to her mom who was in the kitchen cooking dinner. "Mommy!" Emma said. Snow looked down to see her daughter with this big, cheesy smile on her face, "Yes, my little princess?" She pulled a drawing from behind her back, "I drew this for you. It's me, you, and daddy." "Oh Emma, this is beautiful. I'm going to hang this on the fridge."

Emma smiled and went back to the table and continued coloring. David came in the kitchen to get some water and saw the picture, "Did OUR little Emma draw this?" Snow smiled, "She sure did." "It's beautiful, just like my little Emma." David said as he went and sat across from Emma at the table. She grinned, "I love you Daddy." "And Daddy loves his little munchkin." Snow finished cooking, "Okay Emma, time to put your drawings away, it's dinnertime." "Okay mommy." Emma ran to put her drawings upstairs.

David grabbed his wife's hand, "Snow, this is just amazing, I still can't believe it." "I know! We get to be parents. Thing is, what are we going to do about the 7 hours she needs to sleep? We'll miss those years." Snow said as she sat down. David started pondering, "Well if she goes to sleep in the next hour, when she wakes up she'll be 12. We got the really impressionable stages, the next stage that really matters are her pre-teen and teen years." "So you're saying it'll be okay for her to go on and sleep? This is the price we're paying for using magic." Snow said.

Just then Emma ran back downstairs, "Mommy, I love you." She hugged her mom. Snow picked her daughter up and sat her in her lap, "Mommy loves you too, little bunny." Snow kissed her on the head. "Yeah, let her sleep, she'll be okay Snow." "Aww but I'm not sleepy!" Emma cried. Snow laughed, "Not now, when it's your bedtime, which is after dinner, you're going to sleep. You need rest to get big and strong. Now let's eat." After dinner, David was washing dishes while Snow gave Emma a bath.

"Time to get out my little duckling." Emma was enjoying her bath, playing with the bubbles. "Do I have to mommy?" She asked, dreading to get out. Snow wrapped a towel around Emma, "Yes, otherwise if you stayed in the water, you'd shrivel up. Now let's get you dry and ready for bed." Once she was ready for bed, her parents tucked her in and kissed her goodnight. "Sweet dreams our little Princess." Snow said as she turned off the light. Snow and David got into bed and everyone was asleep.

When they fell asleep, it was 9 pm and when Emma woke up it was 5 am and she was 13. Her parents had overslept unfortunately. Emma woke up so startled she ran downstairs where her parents were. "Mom? Dad?" Emma called as she stood there shaking and scared. Snow woke up, "Emma! What's wrong?" Emma had blood on her night gown, "I don't know what happened. I'm scared."

David sat up rubbing his eyes and when he could finally see, he was just as confused as Emma. Snow thought about it, "You're not cut right?" She asked her daughter as she got up and walked over to Emma. Emma just shook her head no. "Okay, I know exactly what it is. Let's go upstairs and get you cleaned up and I'll explain what it is." She took her daughter's hand and walked upstairs, "Is this one of those female things!?" David yelled from downstairs.

Snow yelled back, "Yes!" David shrugged and went back to sleep. "So mom, what is happening?" "Well Emma, you're becoming a young woman, and you're body is going through changes, and this is just part of it." Snow continued telling Emma about puberty. "Oh, this is gross!" Emma said, crossing her arms. Snow laughed, "I know but, we all go through it. Now go hop in the shower and get dressed, we have things to do today. I bought you a new outfit yesterday, it's in your closet." Snow headed back downstairs, "Okay, thanks mom!" Emma said as she went to take a shower.

Snow got back in bed next to her husband, "David..." She called his name so sweetly. He was sound asleep. "David! Wake up!" She yelled, he jumped up. "Whaa, I'm up, I'm up! What's wrong?" "We overslept, we were suppose to wake up when she was twelve and now she's thirteen and she's hit puberty!" Snow said. David kissed his wife on the cheek, "It's okay, we need to worry about these next few hours. They are going to be crazy, here come the rebellious stages. Wait, she hit puberty?"

David had to be sure he heard right, "Yes, she's a young woman now, and I told her about the Birds and the Bees as well but she thinks it's gross so that'll buy us some time before boys." Snow said as she started making up the bed. David looked at Snow, "What boys? There will be no boys with my daughter, at all." "David..." Snow just laughed. Emma came downstairs, "How do I look?" She grinned. "Beautiful, like your mother. Good morning sweetheart." David said, hugging his daughter.

"Good morning daddy." Emma said. "Emma why don't you go get a bowl of cereal?" Snow asked. "Okay mom." She went into the kitchen. Snow whispered to David, "So what are we going to do now, do I take her to school with me or is she going with you?" David thought about it, "She can go with you and at lunchtime, she can come with me. Deal?" "Deal." Snow and David got ready, "Okay Emma, you're coming with me to school and at lunchtime Daddy is going to come get you, and you'll spend some time with him." "Cool." She said, finishing her cereal.


	5. Chapter 5

Snow and Emma made their way to school and saw Henry sitting outside. "Mom? Grandma?" Henry asked, staring at Emma and Snow. "Yeah, Emma, this is Henry." Snow said. Emma grinned at Henry, "Hi Henry. It's very nice to meet you." "Nice to meet you too." Henry shook her hand. They all went inside and Snow began teaching while Emma sat in the back and read, but she was still listening to her mother teach and every so often Snow would glance at Emma and smile.

Lunchtime came and all the kids ran out the room except Henry and Emma, who was now 18. "Okay, your dad should be here soon to get you Emma." Snow said, packing her daughter's lunch. "Can I go with them?" Henry eagerly asked. "Uhm..." Snow pondered, "Sure, I guess it wouldn't hurt since you'd be with David. "I wonder if there are any cute guys around here." Emma said, looking out the window. Snow raised her eyebrow at her daughter, "Oh your father is going to have a field day." David walked in, "All set?"

Emma and Henry grabbed their bags, "Yup. Can I go in the forest?" Emma asked. "No!" Snow and David both yelled. "Gosh, I'm not a kid anymore, you guys have to let me grow up sometime." Emma pouted. "Look, the forest is really dangerous right now, we don't want you or Henry going out there, do you understand me?" David said sternly. Emma rolled her eyes, "Fine. Whatever. Can we go now?" Snow sighed, "Have fun." She kissed her husband.

"Emma, be good, please?" She kissed her daughter. "Aw mom c'mon, I'm an angel." "Mhm..." Snow said. David took Emma and Henry to the Sheriff station. A few minutes after they got there, a call came in and David had to leave, "You two stay here! Do not leave." David rushed off to handle the emergency. Emma got up to make sure her father had left, "Hey kid, wanna go into the forest?" Henry looked at Emma, "But they told us not to." Emma laughed, "Kid, don't be a goody goody all your life. Have some fun once in awhile. Now I'm going, you can either stay here and be bored or come with me and have an adventure." Emma started walking out the door and Henry followed.

Emma was being sneaky, making sure she stayed out of sight as much as possible, with Henry following like he was her shadow. They had just gotten to the Toll Bridge when Emma stopped and gazed in amazement, "Wow! This looks amazing." Henry stood next to her, "It's just trees." He said, trying to see what she was seeing. "Yeah but, just think about how big this place is. You never know what could be in there."

She said, still staring. "Yeah we do, Serena the Witch is out there." He said, remembering how scared he was when she appeared the last time they were here. She looked down at Henry, "Really?! Okay, now we HAVE to go in there. My mom told me stories about witches but I never really thought they'd be here." "You would be surprised who was a witch here. And this witch is far more scarier than others, she takes form of the thing that scares you most."

Henry started thinking about going back. "Well, I'm not afraid of anything so I dare her to try and scare me. Come on, let's keep going." Emma continued walking, Henry followed but took out his phone and texted two people. Once they got further into the woods, Emma stood perfectly still, looking, waiting for this so called witch to appear. "Hey witch! Why don't you come out and show yourself?" She yelled. "Or not!" Henry chimed in.

Just then Serena appeared in her usual cloud of smoke, "You rang?" She laughed, "Wait, aren't you the Sheriff?" Emma looked at her like she was crazy, "Uh no. My dad is Sheriff, duh." Serena thought to herself, "Doesn't matter. And what brings you to my forest?" "I heard you take form of the thing people are most afraid of." Emma said bravely while Henry hid behind her.

"Oh you're a brave one, aren't you?" Serena said. "Yup! So let's see if you can scare me." Emma was challenging Serena and both of them didn't plan on failing. Henry stood in front of Emma, "Wait! Please, don't do this." Emma pulled Henry back behind her, "C'mon kid, get out the way." Serena walked closer to Emma, staring her in the eyes, never blinking. Emma stood her ground, not letting Serena intimidate her.

Henry decided he wasn't going to let Serena touch Emma, so as Serena was just about to touch Emma's temples, Henry kicked her away. Serena screamed, "You! You'll pay for this!" She drew back her hands, about to do something terrible when all of a sudden she was frozen! They both turned to see Regina with her arms flung out in front of her, she had froze Serena.

"Henry!" Regina yelled. "Mom!" He ran to her and she hugged him. "Emma!" Snow called as she ran to her daughter. "What on earth were you two thinking!" Snow was furious. Regina looked at Henry, "Yes, what were you two thinking? Who's idea was this?" "It was..." Emma started her sentence but Henry interrupted her, "It was my idea. After grandpa got called away, I told Emma it would be cool to come out here. She tried to talk me out of it and when I ran off, she chased after me."

"Well, you are in a lot of trouble young man. Who texted Ms. Blanchard and I then?" Regina asked. "She did, when she saw Serena, she grabbed my phone and texted you two." Henry answered. Snow looked at her daughter who just remained silent. "Okay, well I'm glad Ms. Swan had the right idea. Snow, he needs to be grounded. No fun for two weeks."

Snow nodded, "Agreed. David and I will make sure that when he's with us, he is still on punishment." "Good. Now what to do with Serena." Regina waved her hand and Serena disappeared. "Where did you send her?" Emma asked. "To another part of the woods, gives us time to leave. Which I would suggest we do now." As they made their way home Snow whispered to Emma, "We aren't done talking about this. As soon as we get home, your father and I want to have a nice chat with you." Emma kept her head down, she knew what she had done was wrong. By the time they got home, she was 19. "Henry, Emma, sit!" Snow said.


	6. Chapter 6

They sat down while Snow paced back and forth, trying to calm herself down and find the right words to say. "Mom, I'm..." Emma started but Snow put her hand up for her to stop talking, "No, uh un, don't say anything right now." David walked through the door, "Is everyone alright?" Snow turned to her husband, "Yes, Regina and I got there in time and she froze Serena and saved them.

"Well we all owe her our thanks but that wouldn't be necessary if you two had stayed where I told you to. I specifically told you not to leave! Something could have happened to you guys! Whose idea was this?" David's tone was semi-frightening. Emma and Henry looked at each other, "It was mine." Emma spoke up but she kept her head down.

"Young lady, have you lost your mind? When you asked us earlier to go to the woods and we told you no, did you think we were saying it to be mean?" David asked as he crossed his arms waiting for an answer. "Well no, but, I just wanted to explore." She was a little sad, this was her first time being scolded. "What you did was blatant disrespect and that will not be tolerated. Now, I want to hear how all of this came about, so you two start explaining." Snow looked at her daughter, waiting for an explanation.

"Okay, so after dad left, I asked Henry if he wanted to go to the woods and he said that we shouldn't go because you guys told us not to. I told him that he should have fun for once and that he could stay there and be bored or come with me and have an adventure. We left, he was hesitant but he followed. He told me about Serena but I didn't really believe she could do anything." Emma just stared at her hands as she fiddled with them in her lap.

"And when I realized that she really was planning to confront Serena, that's when I texted you and my mom. Serena was about to touch Emma but I kicked her and then you guys showed up." Henry took to telling the rest once he saw how bad Emma felt. "Okay, you did the right thing by telling someone Henry, but Emma, I am very disappointed in you. Did you really think that you could take on a witch? Oh honey, no. And you will literally be 28 before you leave this house again."

Snow walked upstairs, unable to say anything else. "Mom...Dad, I'm sorry." Emma said before she began crying. David hugged his daughter, "We know, and we know this won't ever happen again. But you have to understand that we would have been devastated if something had happened to you or Henry. And right now your mom just needs some space, she'll be okay soon." David walked upstairs to check on his wife. "Thanks kid, that was really nice of you to take the heat for me." Emma said, looking at Henry. "No problem. I didn't want my mom to think you had a bad influence on me." He said.

Meanwhile upstairs, Snow was sitting on her daughter's bed. David walked up and sat down next to her, "Snow, are you okay?" Snow had this look in her eyes, she was relieved that they were okay but she was so upset that her daughter had done something so careless. "I'm just wondering why she would disobey us like that." Snow looked at David, confused.

"Honey, she is at that rebellious age. She was bound to test us sooner or later." David wrapped his arm around her. "Well I'm glad that is over, now it's your turn to deal with her and boys." Snow smiled. "I already told you, no boys. Nope, no way." "David, remember that Henry got here by her dating a boy." Snow said. David shook his head, "I know. We just don't need anymore grandchildren just yet." He chuckled.

They looked around and saw the Emma had hung her drawings around the room, Snow smiled. They had gotten the memories they wanted. Emma and Henry came upstairs, "Mom..." "Grandma.." Emma walked up first, "Are you still angry with me?" She said so softly. Snow motioned for Emma and Henry to come sit between her and David, "Oh Emma come here. I was never angry with you, but I was disappointed. You put Henry and yourself in a potentially dangerous situation and that wasn't a good decision. You have to learn to think about the consequences of your actions because there will always be consequences."

Emma looked at her mom, "I'm sorry, I won't ever do anything like that again, I promise." Emma started looking around the room. "I remember drawing and hanging these." "Mhm, my sweet little girl, growing up before our eyes." Snow hugged Emma. Just then Emma turned 20. She looked at Henry, "You're a good partner in crime kid." She smiled. Snow and David got up, "Well you two can be partners in crime all you want because neither of you are leaving this house for awhile. So get comfortable." David said as they walked downstairs.

"Hey! You two, could you come down here please?" Snow called. Henry went down first and Emma followed only for them both to see David standing with a broom in one hand and a bucket with a rag in the other hand. "What's going on?" Henry asked. David smiled, "Cleaning. Henry, you sweep, then you'll mop. Emma, you clean the windows and then you'll dust."

Their jaws dropped, "Aw man." Henry said as he grabbed the broom. "You didn't think you two would get off that easy did you?" Snow asked. "Plus, we still want to spend time with you, and have some kind of fun." "And how is cleaning fun?" Emma asked, dreading having to clean. David went upstairs, "You'll see." He came back down with the stereo and turned it on. A song came on and they all smiled at each other and started dancing around while cleaning.

Snow was cleaning the kitchen, David was helping her while Henry swept and Emma dusted. They were laughing and having a good time, spending time as a family. There was a knock at the door and everyone stopped and stared at each other. Who could that be? Every time they had a visitor, it always led to something bad.

David walked toward the door, "I'll answer it. Who is it?" He called. No one said anything and when he tried to look through the peephole, it was covered by whoever was standing on the other side of the door. Everyone was staring at the door, all curious as to who it was on the other side of that door. David opened the door and right after he did, he wished he hadn't.


	7. Chapter 7

"And how can we help you?" David asked, looking at Hook. "Might I come in?" He asked. David stepped aside and let Hook in. "What can we do for you Hook?" Snow smiled. Hook stared at Emma, "Is that...is that Emma?" He was amazed. "Yes. That is our daughter. She's 20 right now, about to turn 21. But that doesn't answer my wife's question. What can we do for you?" David was getting a tad agitated at Hook for staring at Emma.

"My apologies. I came because Regina told me about Emma but I had to see for my own eyes. Plus, I wanted to talk to her." David looked at Snow, hoping to find the right words to say from her expression. Emma was looking at Hook and started blushing. Henry's eyes glanced back and forth from looking at Emma and Hook, trying to figure out what was going on. "Well, if Emma wants to talk to you, by all means you can." Snow answered. David didn't like what Snow said but when he saw how Emma was looking at Hook and how they were just looking at each other in this trance, he snapped his fingers. "Hey! Snap out of it." "Dad! Don't be rude. So what did you want to talk about Mr. Hook?" Emma brushed her hair behind her ear smiling.

"Please, call me Hook. And uh, is there anyway we can talk in private?" "No!" David yelled. "Dad, c'mon. Please?" "Fine, right out in the hallway. Don't go any further." Emma smiled, "Okay." She grabbed Hook's hand and took him out in the hall. "So what did you want to talk to me about?" Emma stood on the wall and Hook was in front of her. David and Henry had their ears pressed up against the wall, "Try to hear as much as you can." David instructed Henry. "Really? You two should be ashamed!" Snow said. "Sshh!" David and Henry wanted to make sure Hook didn't do anything to Emma. "Well Emma, from the first time we encountered each other, I was quite fond of your pretty smile, your beautiful face, and that spunky attitude of yours." Emma turned 21 and she started blushing again. "Oh really? Well from the moment we met I was fond of your cute face and your ability to lie so easily really amazed me." Hook laughed and stepped closer to Emma, so close a toothpick wouldn't fit between their bodies.

Emma's and Hook's eyes were staring into one anothers. "So you think I'm cute?" Hook smiled, but their eyes remained locked. "You think I'm beautiful?" Emma grinned. Hook leaned closer with his hand placed on the wall. Their bodies were pressed up against each other and Hook kissed Emma. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her on him. They continued kissing. David thought it was too quiet out there so he banged on the wall, hoping to startle them.

They stopped and looked around, "What the hell was that?" Hook asked. "I think my protective father in there." Emma leaned back on the wall with her foot pressed against it. "Ah, that makes sense." Hook grinned at Emma. She licked her bottom lip, trying to figure out what that taste was, "What do you have on your lips? Tastes like cinnamon." Hook touched his lips, "Oh, Regina had given me some cinnamon sugar toast earlier. Hope you like cinnamon." "Actually, I do." She looked down smiling. Hook got closer again, "Well my dear, this was a wonderful talk, hope to do it again soon." He kissed her once more but it was quick. "You enjoy the rest of your day. It should be fun." Hook disappeared around the corner. Emma remained against the wall, just smiling, thinking about what just happened. She opened the door and walked inside, just smiling, and sat down at the table. Her eyes were sparkling and she was just staring ahead, not saying anything. "Snow, what's wrong with our daughter?" David said, trying to examine his daughter. Snow looked into her eyes and started laughing, "You don't recognize that look? She's in love. And from the looks of it, they must have been kissing outside." David hit his hand on the table, "Emma Swan! Did he kiss you?" Emma just sighed happily. Snow was laughing in the background, "That means yes." "Eeeww!" Henry went back to cleaning.

"Ew is right. I'm going to give that Hook a piece of my mind!" David yelled. "Dad!" Emma stood up. "David, no!" Snow stopped him. She grabbed him and pulled him aside, "I told you this would happen. Now you can't go beating up on Hook because he kissed our daughter. As you can see, she enjoyed it, and hurting him will make her angry at you. And we both know you don't want that." David tried to look away but Snow turned his head back to her, "But Snow, she's our daughter. Our only daughter. It's my job to protect you both at any cost." "Yes, but she wasn't harmed in any way. She came in here smiling." David looked at his daughter and saw her staring out the window smiling. "Alright! Alright. She can have her crush, but I'm keeping my eyes on Hook." Snow grinned at David and kissed him, "That's what fathers do. Now, let's finish cleaning and maybe watch a movie with our daughter and grandson." Snow handed David a towel. "Emma?" Henry walked over to Emma who was still gazing outside. She turned around and saw Henry, "What's up kid?" "Is Hook your new boyfriend?" He shyly asked, not trying to pry. Snow and David were listening, trying not to make it obvious that they were. "Oh, uhm, no. He's just a friend. Why do you ask?" "Because, the look in your eyes had me worried for a bit. Hook is dangerous so please be careful. You never know what he has up his sleeve. Remember that." Henry went back to mopping. Emma sat and let what Henry said sink in. David and Snow looked at each other and read each other's eyes. "You don't think?" David asked. Snow shook her head, "No...He wouldn't dare." "What if he did?" She looked at Emma, "If he did, we'll soon find out."

They were all enjoying each other's company sitting on the couch watching tv. Snow was snuggled under David and Emma wrapped her arm around Henry. In the midst of them enjoying their quality time, Snow noticed something, Emma hadn't turned 22 yet. She whispered to David, "Don't be alarmed, don't get excited but Emma hasn't aged in 2 hours." David's eyes got big and he quickly turned to Snow. Emma and Henry sat up, "What's wrong you guys?" "Um. Well. Emma, honey, have you noticed that you haven't aged in 2 hours?" Snow asked, trying to keep everyone calm. Emma thought about it, she jumped up, "You're right! I haven't aged! I'm still 21. How?!" David gritted his teeth, "Hook. I just know he had something to do with this!" "Now David don't jump to conclusions." Snow said. "No, now before he showed up at our door, she was aging just fine. Soon as he comes and kisses her, there's a problem. I'm going pirate hunting." He went to grab his jacket, "Dad, no! Just wait, let's just think about this first." Just then a cloud of purple smoke appeared in front of them and Hook and Regina appeared. "Well, enjoying your youth Ms. Swan?" Regina asked. "You did this! Why Regina?" Snow stood up. "I figure if Ms. Swan stays young, I can have my son back and you can even have some joy out of it." Regina smiled. "How did you put a spell on me?" Emma asked staring angrily at Hook and Regina. "Our dear friend Hook helped with that one. A pausing potion mixed with a little cinnamon for taste placed upon the lips can do wonders." She chuckled. A tear formed in Emma's eyes, "So all that talk about us was just to kiss me? Just so you could help Regina put a spell on me?" Snow hugged her daughter, "I think you two need to leave." "On the contrary, not without my son."

David stepped in front of Henry, "Well you aren't getting him so you can leave." Regina grew angry, "Henry, come along." Henry ran upstairs, "I'm not going anywhere. Everyone leave me alone!" "Well I hope you're happy!" David yelled. Hook stepped closer to David, "You shouldn't raise your voice at a woman, mate." David raised his eyebrow, "If you don't get out of my face, you'll be sorry, mate. Oh and by the way..." David sucker punched Hook. "David!" Snow screamed. David got on Hook and was choking him, "I should kill you for what you did! This may not be reversible." Hook grabbed David's hands and tried to get him off but David punched him again. Emma and Snow tried to get David off and Regina finally, with a wave of her hand, flung David off of Hook. Hook gained breath back and ran over to David and punched him back. Emma wrapped her arm around Hook's neck from behind and pulled him to the ground. "Enough!" Emma screamed. "Kid, come downstairs now! You're going with your mom tonight!" Henry came downstairs confused, everyone was confused really. Regina wanted to smile but was shocked, "Why?" Henry asked. "Because I said so. Now go. I'll come get you tomorrow." She hugged him. Henry went with Regina and in that cloud of smoke, she, Henry, and Hook disappeared. Snow helped David over to the couch, "Why'd you send him with her?" He asked. "We need to try and figure out how to get her spell off and I don't want him running around Storybrooke with us looking for answers. Besides, he should be in bed soon anyway. Are you okay?" Emma looked at David's cut on the side of his face. "Yeah, he only got me once, and it was a lucky shot." She smiled at her parents, "Thanks for protecting me dad." David grabbed Emma's hand, "That's my job. It's why I'm here." Snow put a rag with ice wrapped in it on David's cut, "So do we go to Gold's first?" Snow asked.

"I guess we can head to Gold's right now. Wait, what time is it?" Emma asked. David looked at his watch, "I hate to say this but it's the time when Gold's shop closes." Emma's face frowned, "This early? The sun is still out!" Snow could see her daughter was getting upset, "It's Friday Emma, he always closes early. We'll just have to go first thing in the morning. Til then, let's just relax." Emma looked at her mom with fear in her eyes, "What if I'm stuck at this age?" "Oh honey, no. There's always a way." Snow wrapped her arms around her daughter trying to comfort her. "Now just relax and calm your nerves. I'll order us some food, you two go back to watching tv." Emma sat on the couch and laid her head on her father's shoulder. He kissed her on the head and they both smiled softly. Snow joined them on the couch and sat so that Emma was between the both of them. Meanwhile at Regina's house, Hook was hurt pretty bad. She patched Hook up and let him rest in the guest bedroom. Henry ran up to his room and locked the door. "Henry!" Regina called as she walked to his room. When she got to his door she discovered that it was locked, "Son, open the door." "No! Go away." He yelled, burying his face in his pillow. With a flick of her wrist she was in his room, "Did you really think that would stop me?" She walked over and sat on his bed. "What's wrong Henry? I thought that you would want to spend time with me." He sat up with tears on his face, "Yes but not like this. You can't come and try to steal me whenever you want!" She could see the hurt in his face, "But I didn't steal you. She gave you to me." "Only because they're trying to figure out a way to undo that spell you put on her! Why did you do that?" He tilted his head inquisitively. She looked down at her hands, "I honestly don't know. I just really wanted to spend time with you. You're my son." "I'm her son too. And their grandson. You have to learn to accept that. I'll always be your son no matter what and you'll always be my mom. But this, this madness, has to stop between you guys or you're all going to lose me." He cuddled under his mother. She wrapped her arms tightly around him, "I'm so sorry Henry. From now on, I'll be peaceful with them. For your sake." She rested her chin on his head.


	8. Chapter 8

After putting Henry to sleep, Regina peeped in on Hook. He was up, "Need something?" Hook asked, wondering why she was peeking in. "Yes. We need to talk." She walked in and sat in the chair next to the bed. Hook sat up, still in pain. "The only talking I want to do, is about my heart being back in my possession." "That's what I came to talk about. I need you to do one more thing for me." He shook his head, "No. Now you said all I had to do was kiss Emma, and despite my wishes against putting that spell on her, they will never trust me and the prince wants my head. She'll...never trust me again." Hook looked the other way. Regina laughed, "You can't be serious. You have a crush on her? Seriously? It doesn't matter. What I want you to do doesn't involve the Charming family at all." Hook turned back to Regina with curiosity, "If not them, then who?" She smiled, "Gold." After the charming family ate, David and Snow were getting ready for bed when Emma walked over to them, "Guys, can we talk?" They both looked at her, "Sure." They said. They got in bed and Emma sat indian style on the bed, "So I wanted to let you know that the past two days have been amazing. Even though we've arrived at a dilemma, I'm still glad we did this." She tried holding back her tears. Snow smiled, "The past two days were the best days of my life."

"Mine as well. We love you so much munchkin." David chimed in. "I remember you calling me that. I love you guys so much. I want to thank you two, I know I keep my guard up a lot but you are definitely in my heart." She managed to say before bursting into tears. Snow grabbed Emma and had her lay between her and David, "You are our princess, our gift, and we love you unconditionally, even though you are so darn hard headed!" Snow chuckled and Emma smiled through the tears and laughed. "Oh Snow! Remember when she refused to get out of the tub, you loved water so much we thought you were a duck for a minute." Emma covered her face with her hands, "Oh my gosh, please don't tell other people this." "We won't have to, we took pictures." Snow and David laughed. "What am I going to do with you two?" "Try not to think about tacos tonight Emma." David laughed. Emma's mouth dropped, "Oh. My. Gosh. Thanks a lot DAD! Kill the vision before it's burned into my eyes!" Emma yelled while her parents just laughed and eventually she started laughing too. "You guys are mean." Emma said. "Aww! Well, maybe we are mean, maybe not, only way to determine that is a...pillow fight!" Snow grabbed a pillow and hit David so hard he fell off the bed. Snow and Emma died laughing.

"Oh, you're gonna get it now!" He swung for Snow but she ducked and he hit Emma. He and Snow were laughing now, and Emma grabbed two pillows and hit them both. They were having fun and then suddenly Snow dropped her pillow, "Wait. Something's not right." She looked at David and winked but Emma didn't see. "Emma, sweetie, turn around." Snow crept up behind Emma and started tickling her. David grabbed her hands so she couldn't stop it, "I tap out!" Emma yelled trying to wiggle free, still laughing. "Say the magic word." Snow said. "Okay! Okay! Tacos." David let her go and they laughed. "Yeah you guys are mean." Emma said as she stretched across her parents' bed. Snow and David got in bed and Emma crept up between them. Snow kissed her daughter on the forehead and David did the same. "Goodnight my loves." Snow said before she turned off the light. "Night." Emma said as Snow cuddled her in her arms. "Well I'll just cuddle with myself then." David said jokingly, they laughed and eventually went to sleep.

Emma woke up to the sound of birds chirping, she opened her eyes and saw her parents were still sleeping. She crawled out of bed, carefully, not wanting to wake them. Heading upstairs, she started thinking about whether she should head to Gold's alone or not. She knew that if she had to do something crazy, her parents wouldn't want her to go alone and she couldn't risk them getting hurt. So after she got cleaned up, she wrote a note, "Went out for coffee, be back in 30" and shut the door quietly. On the way to Gold's she ran into Ruby, "Hey Ruby." Emma smiled. Ruby tilted her head, "Emma? You look younger." "Yeah it's me, it's a long story but now I have to go talk to Gold who hopefully has a way to undo this spell." "Can I come with? You know, to make sure you don't get hurt?" Emma grinned, "Sure. Be nice to have some company." They continued on to the shop, Emma walked in but no one was at the counter. "Gold? Anyone here?"

Emma and Ruby looked around but no one answered. "Mr. Gold?" Ruby called. Still no answer, no sign of anyone there at all. Emma walked in the back but no one was there. "Ruby, he's not here. No one is." "Hm. I wonder where he could be. Maybe he had an errand to run. We'll come back later. Let's go back to Grannies and get some breakfast." Emma sat and enjoyed a cup of hot chocolate when Henry and Regina walked in. "Emma!" He ran over and hugged her. "Hey kid. Sorry about yesterday, everything was just so tense, I didn't mean to yell at you." He smiled, "It's okay." "Good morning Emma." Regina greeted her with a soft grin. "Good morning. I think we should talk." Emma gestured for her to sit down. "Indeed. First I want to apologize for what I did and from now on, I want us to get along, for Henry's sake." Emma nodded, "I completely agree and thanks for apologizing. But I wanted to ask you how to undo this spell. Do you know?" "Yes, but I don't think you're going to like the answer." Regina said.

"What do you mean?" Emma asked. "Well, in order for you to undo the spell, you need a potion. And I don't have all the ingredients for it." Regina looked at Emma, who was completely confused, "Okay...So what do you need?" "I'm not sure how to say this to you but, I need a lock of hair from you and one other person." "Who?" Emma was getting restless. "Serena." Regina whispered. "Are you kidding me?" She yelled but Regina begged her to step outside, to keep other people from listening. They walked outside, "I've barely escaped from this woman TWICE! And now you're telling me I have to go back to her and get a lock of her hair!?" "Look, if there was any other way, believe me I would take it, but there isn't. The pausing spell was created by her, so it's only fitting that a piece of her is part of the undoing spell." Emma sighed, "Okay. Well, you're coming with me." "Fine. Just let me get Henry home and settled. Meet me at my place in an hour."

Regina looked Emma in her eyes, "I really am sorry." Emma smiled, "It's okay. As long as you help me undo this." Regina went back in to join Henry and Emma made her way home. When she got there her mom was cooking breakfast, "Good morning honey." "Morning." Snow could see that something was wrong, "Something wrong?" "Oh no. Everything is fine." Snow stopped what she was doing, "Emma Swan, don't lie to me. What's wrong?" Emma caved in, "Okay. I didn't really leave this morning for coffee. I went to Gold's to see if he had a way to undo this but he wasn't there. Then I went to Grannies for some hot chocolate and Regina came in with Henry. She told me she could undo the spell but she needs something. A lock of hair from me and Serena." David came from downstairs, "What!?" "You are not going back out there by yourself. We are coming with you." "Guys no. Regina is coming with me. I don't want you to get you, you two and Henry are all I have." Snow picked up Emma's head so their eyes would meet, "But you're the only daughter we have and we will not lose you. Understand?" Emma grabbed her mom's hand and smiled, "Okay, since I clearly can't tell you guys what to do." She laughed.


	9. Chapter 9

The Charmings prepared for battle, well, it wasn't necessarily battle but Serena was capable of so much, they needed to be prepared. David grabbed his sword, Snow put on her bow and arrows and Emma was strapped with her gun.

"Ready?" Emma asked, waiting at the door. She was trying to mentally prepare herself for Serena because she was almost positive that she was going to have to face her fear, but what was her fear? She wasn't afraid of insects, nor any animals really. Her fear was deep within her mind, her fear was an action, it was a scenario she dreaded to encounter and buried it so deep within her mind she had completely forgotten what it was.

Snow saw how Emma was in deep thought so she walked over to her and rested her hand on her shoulder. Emma was startled and faced her mom, "Are you okay?" Snow was concerned. Emma closed her eyes, she didn't want her mother to see her eyes because she knew Snow would see the truth in them, "Uhm, yeah." She let out a nervous laugh.

"Emma, look at me." Snow placed her hand on Emma's cheek, Emma placed her hand on top of Snow's and opened her eyes. Snow looked into them, "You're not sure you want to do this, are you?" Emma shook her head, "But it's something I have to do." letting her lips form a soft smile. Emma wrapped her arms around her mom and rested her head on her shoulder, silently letting tears stroll down her cheeks because she didn't want her mother to know she was crying. Snow looked down and saw Emma crying and hugged her daughter even tighter, she kissed her head softly and just held her. David walked over and wrapped his arms around them and they just stood in silence because they were speaking with their hearts.

Emma just kept her eyes closed, even though she had so many thoughts running through her mind, she loved this moment. David let go first and then Snow, "We will not let anything happen to you. I want you to know that Munchkin." David wiped some tears off Emma's face. She kept quiet but nodded, Snow took her hand and they made their way to Regina's house.

David rang the doorbell and Regina came outside, "We ready to get this done?"

Emma stood in front of Regina, "Thank you. So much." She smiled and started walking, Regina looked at Snow who shrugged and David just followed Emma.

"Whatever happens, do not let her touch you, especially your temples, that's the only way she can learn your greatest fear." Regina advised. "Is there any way to kill her?" Snow asked. Regina shook her head, "No one knows. So many people who have faced her either died or the ones who survived were so terrified, they never spoke again."

Emma stopped walking, causing everyone else to stop and look at her. Emma took in a deep breath, her heart was beating rapidly, she closed her eyes and exhaled, picturing her being 28 again and seeing Henry. Hearing him call her mom again. She opened her eyes and continued walking and the gang followed.

When they got there Emma had Snow and Charming posted behind trees at different angles, ready for whatever may happen. Emma and Regina stood side by side, awaiting the arrival of Serena. There was a loud thunder-like sound and then the infamous Serena laugh. She appeared but this time she wasn't pleased and was ready for revenge. "Back again huh? Well this time, I won't be so nice." She noticed Regina, "Oh, I see you brought another friend. And is that Snow and Charming behind those trees?" She laughed evily.

Emma took a step back, "I'm not afraid of you!" She yelled. For some reason when Regina tried to use her magic, this time it didn't work. "You didn't actually think I would let you come back here without protecting myself from you magic, did you?" With a simple hand motion, Regina flew towards Snow.

"Now, finally, we're all alone with no one here to protect you." Emma's mind was racing with thoughts, she didn't know what to do next, and before she could move Serena grabbed her. "Noooo!" Snow screamed as she ran towards them and David followed.

Everything turned white, Serena was in Emma's mind, "So, that's what you're afraid of, huh? Hmm, pretty complex but understandable." She stepped out of Emma's mind and Emma fell to the ground. Serena flung her arms out and she was going to show everyone Emma's fear.

They all watched Serena as she showed them Snow and David being killed in a horrific manner, Emma screamed. She didn't realize it wasn't real just yet and she covered her eyes. She just kept screaming no. Snow shook her, "Emma! Look at me, we are fine! Look!" Emma opened her eyes to see her parents were fine. She began crying, "I told you, everyone is afraid of something."

Emma stood up, "You evil bitch." She ran to her and tackled her. Regina threw Emma a dagger, "Emma, catch!" Emma caught it, "This nightmare is over, as of now." She cut a huge chunk of Serena's hair. Serena screamed and everything turned dark.

"Charming! Emma! Regina!" Snow screamed. They all were trying to find each other in the dark. Serena laughed again, she snuck up behind Snow and grabbed her. Snow screamed but Serena had caught sight of her fear, "I see where your daughter gets it from." "Let's get out of here!" Regina yelled. Just then the darkness went away. They all ran to each other, "What happened!?" David exclaimed. Snow was crying, "She grabbed me. She knows what I'm afraid of." "What?" Regina asked.

"There's more than one thing so I'm not sure what she saw." David and Regina were standing next to each other when Serena snuck up behind them and touched them both. They both turned around, startled, "She's gotten you two now. We have to get out of here before it gets any worse, we have what we came for." Emma was ready to leave.

Serena appeared before them, "Oh no, not so fast. Tsk tsk tsk. You four are arguably interesting, yet your fears don't seem to match your personality at all." Just then they all started screaming, except Emma, because each was seeing their fear, Snow was seeing her daughter be killed, Regina saw Cora killing Daniel over and over again, Charming saw the King killing Snow, but with all the commotion, Emma stabbed Serena with the dagger in the heart. Her determination helped her overcome her fears.

Serena fell to the ground and turned to dust, "Guys!" Emma called. She ran over to Snow, "Mom! Mom, come back to me!" Snow came out of her daze. She grabbed Emma, "Oh Emma!" She began crying, "Mom, go help Regina while I help dad." Emma ran to David while Snow ran to Regina.

Emma lightly slapped David on the cheek, "Dad! Everything's okay. Stop screaming!" He stopped and fell to his knees, "I'm okay. Thank you Emma."

Snow softly shook Regina, "It's okay Regina! It's not real!" Regina gasped for air, she was back. David ran to Snow and wrapped her in his warm embrace, "I don"t ever want to lose you!" He kissed her while tears streamed down both of their faces. Emma went over and hugged them and Regina even got a hug, "Come on, let's go home." Emma grasped tightly to the hair and they made their way back to Regina's house. Once inside, Regina took the hair and added it to a pre-made potion, shook it up, put a cap on it and handed it to Emma. "Here you go, drink this and you'll go back to aging properly." Regina smiled.


	10. Final Piece

Emma grabbed the bottle and gave Regina a smile, "Thanks." She drank it and she aged up to 28 again, because of the elapsed time during the pausing spell.

Everything was back to normal, well the Charming version of normal.

"Is it okay if Henry comes with us tonight?" Emma asked politely. "Sure. I don't see why not." Regina went upstairs to get Henry. He ran downstairs, "Mom!" She embraced him, hugging him, "Yeah kid, mom. Everything is okay now. Now let's go home."

Emma walked holding Henry's hand with Snow and Charming walking behind them holding hands as well. They made it home and they all put on funny character pajamas for a night of fun.

"Mom, are you wearing Spongebob?" Emma asked, cracking up.

Snow stuck her tongue out, "Yes! At least I'm not wearing Care Bears!"

"Hey!" Emma yelled smiling, "Care bears are awesome!"

"Not as awesome as Batman!" Charming shouted.

Snow and Emma laughed, "Nope, Adventure Time beats all your characters." Henry said.

They all just laughed at each other. Emma paused and looked at her family, her heart was filled with warmth. Snow noticed Emma, "What's up sweetie?"

She smiled, "Just thinking about how much I love you guys." "Aww! We love you too, princess! Group hug!" David hugged Emma and Henry and Snow joined in. And they lived normally ever after, Charming Family normal of course!


End file.
